REFLECTION
Reflecting on this module I feel it did well to further inform my view on Interaction Design as a whole. Although I never really doubted that this is what I wanted to do, working on the brief gave me further insight into the sheer scope of what was achievable for an interaction designer. It also helped in enabling me to look at my self as a future designer and what types of things I would like to pursue as I continue along this particular career path. An example of this would be when I was brainstorming ideas for my initial concept.
After I realised I wasn’t happy with my Initial nature log concept I wanted to try and move away from the digital side of things to see if there was anything that inspired me. I was surprised to see designers creating things like interactive exhibitions and physical products instead of just the usual digital creations. This discovery really opened my eyes to what an interaction designer can be, and also inspired one of my earlier concepts, which was an experience for the visually impaired.
One of the main things I learnt from this experience is that I can be very indecisive when presented with a more open brief. I took me quite a while before I had a concept that I really felt passionate enough about to pursue as my final piece. I felt this had an impact on my final outcome as it left me less time to develop my idea further and I often found myself thinking of new developments I could have pursued. Unfortunately, by this stage it was too late to pursue them. This habit is a problem that I will have to work on as I progress through the course as it could lead to trouble later on down the line. I guess I am just fortunate that my idea panned out as I had hope, because otherwise I would have been left with little room to manoeuvre and alter my idea. In the future I will have to work on my time management in order to avoid this problem.
However, despite my initial indecisiveness I still enjoyed the more open style of brief, and appreciated the creative room it provided me with. The most enjoyable part of the brief was the fact that we were only developing a concept and not a piece that had to be fully grounded in reality. This provided me with a lot of creative freedom when coming up with concepts, which is maybe why it took me so long to settle for my final idea.
Another aspect I felt I struggled with over the course of the project was utilising my sketchbook effectively. In the past I have never been in the habit of keeping a sketchbook when I am working on projects, and tend to do most of my idea development and brainstorming in my head. As a person I find it hard to put my ideas down on paper and would rather play around with my ideas on software like InDesign or Illustrator until I am happy with the outcome. I realise now that his can negatively affect the way my work is perceived by others, as its hard to follow my thinking and idea development throughout the project when there is not a lot of physical evidence of my where my thinking has been. This is definitely an aspect I’ll have to work on over time. I’ll have to see my sketchbook as a valuable tool in the creative process and start forcing myself to use it more to explore ideas before jumping onto a computer to develop my designs.
I’m glad I decided to go with a more digital based project in the end because I felt it was a real eye opener as to what a career in that area of interaction design would entail. This was especially helpful as one of my aspirations is to work as a UI/UX designer later in my career and it provided a real, albeit watered down insight as to what that may be like. I especially enjoyed bringing my UI to life using the prototyping tool and felt it was really rewarding seeing my UI being able to function at least partly as intended.
A contemporary designer I take inspiration from is Massimo Vignelli. I began looking at his work when searching for inspiration for my Graphic Design aspects of the project. Massimo Vignelli was a New York based graphic designer, known for his minimalist aesthetic and use of limited typefaces. Vignelli was also known to work in product and furniture design through-out his career. I mainly took inspiration from his graphic design work when it came to producing my Concept board and User Interface. Much like his some of his work my concept board has a very minimalist aesthetic.
A historical designer I took inspiration from is the Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger. He is famous for the creation of the font Neue Haas Grotesk in 1957, which was later named Helevetica. I made use of this typeface in my own UI design and graphic design work. I felt the fonts modern aesthetic fit well with the layout I was looking to use for my UI. I am also a huge fan of the swiss design movement and felt that this would bring some of that style to my design.
In conclusion, this project was a big learning experience for me. It broadened my view on what interaction design can be as a discipline, and showed me various new possibilities as to where I could take my career in the future. It also did well to make me aware a few glaring problems with my work ethic, especially when it came to time management and using my sketch book effectively. I am happy these bad habits were brought to my attention though, because now I can work to better them in the future. I am happy with the work I produced in the end, and felt it provided a different take on the brief we were presented with. I only wonder what more I could’ve achieved in the time provided had I worked more effectively through-out the whole project.
